Are there any states in the US where someone can become a legal
resident of that state without actually living there?  (Politicians
seem to do it all the time...)

Identifying states with loose, easy to satisfy residency requirements
is also acceptable.  For example, if residency can be obtained by
renting a PO box in the state or simply making a declaration of
residency.

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 08 Aug 2006 06:37 PDT

The answer depends largely upon your reason for establishing
residency. Residency requirements for voters, for example, is much
looser than the requirements for educational assistance or tuition
rates. If possible, let us know the purposes for the residency and
perhaps we can help you find such a state.

tutuzdad-ga

"Politicians seem to do it all the time". Wrong. Politicians are
actually residents - they buy (or rent) a house in that state, pay
their taxes (hopefully), etc. They do not "cheat" in any way - if you
rent/buy a house and otherwise prove (e.g., working there and paying
taxes properly) that your centre of life is in that state, I'd imagine
that the authorities would not look too hard into whether you actually
live there.

You may want to explain the purpose of establishing such residency,
since being considered a "resident" may have different requirements
for different purposes.  For example in NC, you are a resident for tax
purposes as soon as you move in but don't qualify for in-state tuition
at the state schools until you have lived there for a year.